For The Best
by Hazeru1001
Summary: An incident involving a Sith leaves Ahsoka with the biggest problems she's ever had to face in her life, and the hardest decision she's ever had to make. Warning: Mentions of rape.
1. Prologue

Hazeru - This is my first chaptered Clone Wars story.

Hera - And as a warning, this story contains (mentions of) rape. If this in the story offends you, please do not read.

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Prologue

_Ahsoka's POV_

How could I have let this happen?

After that ... experience a couple of months ago, I'd been gradually recovering. I had thought that I was just about back to normal; even going back out to fight as a Jedi padawan alongside my master. He was still worried about me – I could tell by the way he now refused to let me out of his sight – but he did seem to have accepted that the only way I was ever going to get over what had happened to me was if I carried on as I had always done.

He was right, of course, about that. I did want to carry on. I wasn't about to quit my position and throw away all of my Jedi training just because of one traumatic experience! Alright, it was about as bad as things could have got – short of turning to the Dark Side – but I was on the mend, and now that the physical scars had healed, I was ready to get on with my life, with my training, and allow time to heal all the emotional scars. The Jedi training and meditation helped.

But now, around two months after the incident on that deserted planet, my life had once again been turned upside down, perhaps permanently this time.

I paced around my quarters on the ship, wishing already that I had waited to take the test until the mission was completely over. We had already rescued the captive senator and were on route to meet with the Jedi Council to discuss our encounter with General Grievous – the droid had escaped again, much to our mutual irritation – but we had yet to reach the planet. Now, I wished that I'd waited – it had seemed so farfetched an idea that I hadn't really thought about it when I'd decided to take the test. I only took it at all because R2 was insistent that I should; I love that little guy, so I did it to placate him after he'd seen me feeling ill that morning.

He'd given me the test, obtaining it from I-don't-even-want-to-know-where, and I'd humoured him by taking in. I had not expected it to be positive. The weirdest thing was that, once I saw that it was positive, I'd not even really believed it; I had laughed and told him to get me another one, this one was clearly faulty. But no – the next one he gave me yielded the same results, and here I began to panic. I asked for another, and another, and another. By the fifth, I was pretty much convinced, and trembling with fear, rage and despair.

Fear that I was in a condition strictly forbidden by the Jedi code; furious that I was not in this condition through any fault of my own; despairing because I truly didn't know what to do.

I paced around the tiny quarters, doing laps of the small area at a quick pace, internally screaming and outwardly shaking. My fingers wrung themselves together, my breathing came too quickly, my heart pounded. I was immensely grateful that I was in my private quarters and not out in the open; nobody should ever see me like this. I was a Jedi and liked to hold myself strong and proud like one, the last thing I needed was Rex or one of the other Clones to see me halfway to a breakdown, not to mention my master.

I had no idea what to do. How could I go on with this _thing_ inside of me?

There was no instant connection, no inexplicable joy, no delight – only hopelessness and shame. I was carrying a monstrosity and I wanted it out of my body. It had no right to be there; I had not willingly taken part in the act, so why should I bear this burden? This was not my choice, not my fault.

You don't believe me? You don't understand? Well, let me fill you in: about two months ago, we were sent on a mission to the Outer Rim in search of Count Dooku, me and my master, along with the usual clones assigned to him. But on the way there was a problem with one of the engines that couldn't be repaired quickly enough and we had to make an emergency landing on an uncharted planet – its name I can't recall. Anyway, we thought it was harmless and simply uninhabited; we were wrong.

As it turned out, the Sith were using the planet as a base for small meetings. By sheer chance, Dooku was there. As was _he_.

_He_ was another Sith, likely an apprentice of some description - a human male of about twenty five, skilled with a lightsabre, physically strong and manipulating. Whilst exploring, I came across him, without my master and accompanied by only a couple of Clones. At first I wasn't especially worried; I was sure that I could handle him, even when he slaughtered the two Clones – that only made me attack him with more passion. He was relatively skilled but so was I; if things had been a fight and nothing more, I may well have won.

But I had not counted on the new weapon of the Sith – something that could be used only in specific locations, in places where the force was weakest. It was a device capable of stopping the force from being used by a Jedi, and it stopped me. He managed to knock my sabres out of my hands, and without the force, I couldn't get them back to me.

Then he pinned me down, and with the strength he had, I was unable to fight. He hit my head against a rock so that I was only semi-conscious, and then he ... did the deed. I was aware what was happened but unable to fight, without the force and not completely conscious.

Anakin walked in after he had ... finished ... twice already, looking for me after I had not returned from my scouting. What Anakin saw sickened him and shamed me, no matter what way you look at it. He killed that Sith and I have never seen him more angry than the moment when he realised that the Sith had raped me – I hope that I never see him that angry again.

Anakin got me back to the ship and a medical droid healed my physical injuries. I was mostly frozen by the experience, unable to speak and motionless save for some trembling, and I know that Anakin was terrified when I wouldn't answer him; all I could do was lean against him. It wasn't the first time he'd hugged me, but it was the first time he'd held me to him so tightly, like he was afraid I was going to disappear. I know that he was doing it because he was reassuring himself and me that the ordeal was over.

We managed to get a Republic ship to come and collect us, and I learned that Dooku had fled after a battle with Anakin that had come to a grudging draw in the end. We returned to the council, who heard from Anakin what had happened to me, and after that, life returned to normal.

I was only in the actual hospital for three days before I was allowed out, hence why I thought it could all go back to normal.

That was what happened. Now you know what I do, and I can't tell you anything more because I genuinely don't know anything else.

I didn't know what the Sith are planning, or if that weapon they had was destroyed, or if they had more of them somewhere on other planets.

Most of all, I didn't know why I had to have conceived from a disgusting act such as what happened to me.

Now, I collapsed onto my bed, clenching my eyes closed to stop myself from crying, wishing that it hadn't happened, wishing that this wasn't happening. I would have given anything – everything – to be able to take another test that came back one hundred per cent negative.

But I'd taken five already and I knew that another was not going to change the results of those two. There was no denying it – I was carrying that Sith's child inside me.

And I wanted it out. How could I have a baby this way? I was a Jedi, how could I have a baby at all?

A few bleeps from the droid – faithful R2-D2 had been there the whole time – brought me out of my emotional stupor and back to my senses, and I was able to take a deep breath, focus and think logically; thank the force for Jedi meditation, I will never treat it as a chore again.

The Jedi council knew what happened to me. If I told them right away, they would understand. They'd help me to get rid of it and they would not blame me, as they already know why this wasn't my fault.

I didn't have to do this. I could just get help from the council and then I could truly go back to living my life, training to be a Jedi.

I made this decision as the communicator on my wrist bleeped and my master's voice fed through, altering me that he wanted me on up on the bridge – I guessed that we must be getting close to our arrival and thus our meeting with the council.

Perfect. I would use this opportunity to talk to them.

And so, with that in mind, I stood and began to make my way up to the bridge, trying to ignore the constricting of my heart and wondering why my whole body was screaming at me in protest at what I was going to do...

Hazeru - What will she do? Get rid of it or something else...

Hera - No flames. Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 1

Hazeru - Here's the first full chapter, hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 1

"We're running late, so prepare yourself for the council meeting" her master's irritated voice said, followed by a muttered, "Master Windu won't like this."

Ahsoka nodded her agreement and set to the tasks she was assigned to: getting the Clones organised for their arrival and overseeing the ship's landing. All the while, though, her mind was elsewhere, and her movements were mechanic; in her mind, she went over what she was going to tell her master. It was better for him to know before she made her announcement to the council, after all – if he didn't know already, he'd panic, and she didn't want him to embarrass himself in front of the entire Jedi council.

But deciding to tell him was one thing; actually _telling_ him was another thing entirely. How was she going to do this?

As a Jedi, Ahsoka had never even considered, with any realistic emotions, that she might one day have to tell someone that she was pregnant. It just would not happen; as a Jedi, she would have no attachments and therefore would not run the risk of becoming pregnant, and so she never had any idea about this sort of confession. Besides, wasn't the normality for a woman to tell her partner – her husband, usually – that she was carrying _his_ child? Anakin was not her partner, but her master and, if she was honest, her friend.

Then again, this conception was unnatural – she had not consented to a man but had rather been rendered unable to get away from his completely undesired advances. And so this was not exactly her fault even if it was now entirely her problem.

A problem that had to be dealt with, no matter how awkward this conversation was going to be. She might as well get it over with.

"Master" she called, her tone more timid than she would have liked it to be. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, Snips" he said, walking over to her. "But make it quick, we're coming out of hyperspace."

She nodded and took a deep breath. What should she say? Perhaps it was better not to be direct about it, maybe let him suspect something rather than just saying it...

"Master, if something happens to you that you didn't want, is it your fault?" she blurted out, unsure where the words had sprung from even as they left her lips. She didn't know why this was her chosen question; she already knew that it wasn't her fault.

He seemed surprised as well, but he quickly recovered and gave his answer: "No, not as long as you deal with it properly."

"And what is 'properly', exactly?"

"That depends on the situation. Like, if people have been hurt, especially where innocents are involved, the situation's more complicated."

Ahsoka bit her lip as she witnessed his growing suspicion, already regretting beginning this talk – she had no idea how to tell him that she was... Well, she didn't even like to think about it.

She mentally prepared herself, thinking it over in her mind; she prepared a speech inwardly, knowing that a hastily contrived speech would be second rate but better nonetheless than a blurted out explanation.

In her mind, she said what she wanted: Master, the Sith who raped me, he got me pregnant. I have to speak with the council so that I can get it out of me. I don't want it.

That sounded alright, but there was something in that little speech of hers that did not sit right with her, and it was one particular word: it. Why was she referring to an unborn child as an 'it', when the correct term could only be 'he' or 'she'?

"Ahsoka?"

She shook her head, startled slightly by her master's voice. Looking up at him, she saw that he was looking at her with a puzzled expression; through their bond in the Force, she could feel his concern for her.

"It's nothing. Thank you, Master." And she turned and left, hurriedly engaging the first clone she found in conversation about their imminent arrival. She did not allow their conversation to end until Anakin was preoccupied with something else, and then she fled to the opposite side of the bridge.

Inwardly, she was shaking, her heart pounding at far too fast a rate. She was truly terrified, because there was a conflict inside her right now, as her master's words had struck a chord in her that she had not considered before, and now she felt truly lost.

His words rang in her ears: _especially where innocents are involved, the situation's more complicated._

He was right, of course; where innocent people were harmed, the situation always become more complicated. As a Jedi, you didn't have to just get the bad guys; you also had to protect the innocents. That was one of the most important aspects of being a peace keeper, you had to protect those who were innocent, who had never harmed another; those who were dragged unwillingly into other people's conflicts.

But exactly what defined 'innocent'? Ahsoka was now more confused and conflicted than she had been before.

Because she had not conceived willingly and she did not want this, but ... But the child had not been the cause of this. The child was an innocent. Did that mean that she, as a Jedi, should protect it?

Her breathing came more rapidly as she found herself once again – publicly, this time – midway to a breakdown. She had no way to act without breaking the Jedi code: if she aborted the child, she killed an innocent, but if she had the child, she broke the code about forming attachments, for she already knew that she was too compassionate to carry a child in her body for nine months without becoming attached to it in some way.

She was already two months in, give or take a few days, and in her species, the foetus would not be a clump of cells by this period, but indeed a growing child, with a heart already formed and beating. By this point, to get rid of the child would indeed be harming an innocent.

She had to clutch onto the frame of the control panels, her legs too shaky to support her weight. At her side, she heard Captain Rex ask if she was alright, and she could only nod in response.

For the first time in a long time, Ahsoka was truly lost, and felt completely alone even when surrounded by the troopers and in the presence of her master.

/

It was late at night when their ship finally arrived, an hour behind schedule; consequently, the meeting of the Jedi council was also late, leaving its members none too pleased when General Skywalker and his padawan finally came before them with the report of their mission – a report that was not unexpected but unsatisfying all the same. No new leads and no great achievements; the droid General Grievous was still at large, along with so many other enemies.

"Closed, this meeting is, unless anything more to add, you two have" Master Yoda said, offering them the chance to speak up or leave the meeting.

Anakin shook his head and then looked down at his young padawan, silently asking if there was anything she would like to add herself, and completely unaware of her internal struggle.

Ahsoka looked up at him – he looked at her strangely, like he knew something was wrong - and then focused her gaze directly on Master Yoda, knowing that if she wanted to bring this up, she should do it right away, right now.

The Jedi masters would know what to do. They'd be able to tell her whether or not her aborting the child would count as killing an innocent, and she imagined that they probably would say it wouldn't. She could get rid of it, and with their permission she would not be at fault...

But none of this factored in her own conscience. Regardless of what they decided, Ahsoka already knew that she would consider it to be harming an innocent to get rid of the child she carried. It was not her fault and not her wish, but she would never harm an innocent, and there was no better description of this unwanted, unplanned child.

And with the words "nothing to add, Master Yoda" and the bow that followed, Ahsoka knew that she had sealed her fate with her own emotions, and knew that already she had broken the Jedi code, although this would soon seem like nothing compared to what they would eventually find out.

She and her master walked alongside one another until they eventually reached the great hall, where he grabbed her shoulder and knelt down until he was at eye level with his padawan. Ahsoka tried not to swallow in fearful anticipation; she knew that he would notice. He could doubtlessly feel her worry and fear through the Force and wanted to know what was bothering her.

"There's something up, Snips. Care to tell me?"

She lowered her eyes, unable to make eye contact with him. She knew that the only honourable thing to do would be to tell him. He was not only her teacher but her trusted friend as well. She owed him a lot, even her life, and he had her complete trust...

But she was not blind. She knew that there were things he hid from her, secrets he kept. And the secret she now carried herself was huge, something that could – would – ruin her; it seemed almost selfish to drag her master down with her. And it was this reasoning, fuelled by internal conflict and fear and regret, which motivated Ahsoka to lie to her master's face and tell him that nothing was wrong.

He did not believe her; his facial expression told her that much. However, he allowed her to leave, effectively telling her – for she knew him well enough to know his ideology – that she was free for now, but he would find out sooner or later.

And of that she was most afraid.

Hazeru - So has she decided to keep it or give it away? And what will Anakin's reaction be when he finds out?

Hera - Please read and review :)


	3. Chapter 2

Hazeru - Sorry for the LONG wait, I had complete writer's block on this one.

Hera - Oh well, it's cleared now. Here's the next chapter.

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 2

Training had become difficult, in a way that never had been before; before this whole experience, Ahsoka had never seen training with her master as anything more than a challenge, no matter how forceful or demanding he got. But now it was all so different and so much harder. Nowadays she had become all too aware of the way she landed when she fell, thrown back by the Force, and always made sure to take the force of the fall on her shoulders and upper back, never on her stomach or lower back. It went, luckily for her, unnoticed by her master, since he was well used to his padawan trying out new techniques and assumed that this was her newest idea.

The young girl was thrown far across the room by the Force commanded by her master, hitting the wall roughly before tumbling to the ground; the impact was received firstly on her shoulders and then on her hands and knees. She panted slightly, throwing her hand out reflexively to reach for her lightsabre only to find, much to her distaste, that it was already in Anakin's outstretched hand, being offered to her in what she could only imagine was an offer for her to concede defeat with her dignity intact.

"Too slow, Snips" he smirked as she snatched her sabre from his hand. "You seem distracted today."

Scowling at the nickname, Ahsoka got to her feet without his aid and brushed the dust off her knees; of course she was distracted but of course she couldn't tell him why. She knew he'd want an explanation but she had spent so many training sessions in the past month making up excuses for her distracted state that she had genuinely run out; she shrugged in response.

Anakin frowned. "A single moment of hesitation can be the difference between life and death, Ahsoka."

She nodded simply, not wanting to antagonise him further since she knew that he was right; it wasn't his fault that she couldn't concentrate today, that she hadn't been able to properly concentrate on her training for the past month or so. Unfortunately for her, Anakin knew her very well and had, over the last month, been constantly picking up on her hesitations and flinches and knew that enough was enough – he had to confront her about it.

"Ahsoka, what's bothering you?" The stunned, sad look on her face only told him that he had waited too long to ask. "You've not been yourself for weeks. What's going on with you, Snips?"

The padawan bit her lip, moments away from breaking and wilting and telling him everything; she wanted to, if only so that she could talk to someone about this like she had wanted to ever since she had first found out that dreadful day on the ship. But she knew that she would not – could not – tell him the truth.

"I'm sorry, Master" she said hastily, hoping that he wasn't picking up on the tiredness of her tone or the way that she couldn't lace her words with her typical attitude because she was so fatigued. "I've just had a lot on my mind."

He frowned, seeing through her act just like she had always known he would. She frowned, steeling herself for whatever kind of lecture he was sure to throw at her, but was mercifully – or on Anakin's part, annoyingly – interrupted by the arrival of a message from Obi-Wan Kenobi, instructing them to appear before the Jedi Council for details of their next mission; the message came with a strict warning not to be late, and Ahsoka knew that it was a private add-on on Kenobi's part since he knew his former padawan so well. She herself knew that Anakin's time keeping could be erratic.

Since the meeting was an emergency one, it was scheduled to begin as soon as Anakin arrived to take part in it, and thus he had to leave immediately. Ahsoka had never in her life been so grateful for an emergency dash to appear before the council; this had saved her from the inevitable conversation that could now be postponed for at least a few more hours, and that would at least give her some time to get her head in order. Of course, Anakin being summoned meant that she had to tag along with him, indicating that she would be dutifully with him on this next mission.

As she boarded a small shuttle that Anakin was already preparing to fly, a grimace fell over her momentarily before she chastised herself silently and wiped it away with a fake smile. This should be the way it was – her and her master, off to fight in the war against the Sith, to bring the Republic one step closer to victory – and yet she couldn't even summon up her usual enthusiasm; a fact that, she noticed, was not lost on Anakin.

/

It was not long after their hurried arrival that Master Skywalker and his padawan were dismissed with their new mission – in all honesty, Anakin could not say that he hadn't been expecting it. After all, he was always the 'lucky' one who got to go on such missions.

It was simple enough in theory: the Separatists had set up base on a small planet in the far reaches of the galaxy with the intention of creating a massive droids factory, capable of producing hundreds – maybe even thousands – of droids every day; such an ability would cripple the Republic army severely if so many new battle droids were allowed to have successful creation. And so it had fallen to Anakin to take his padawan to the planet – Glombd-Ashk, a world of murky and often poisonous greenery – to aid Jedi Master Aayla Secura in the destruction of the factory.

The last time he had taken Ahsoka on such a mission, he had almost lost her; it had been on Geonosis, and he didn't like to think about what had happen that day or remember the aftermath of those events. However, he knew that Ahsoka had matured since then, and even so, she had managed to do him proud during that battle. She had not been herself lately, but he was confident that she would manage; he did not doubt his padawan.

His padawan who was currently boarding their ship alongside R2-D2, chatting amiably to the small droid about who-knew-what, despite the fact that he could see in her eyes and facial features how tired and weary she was; he did not and could not understand it. Ahsoka was strong willed as well as physically very capable, and neither of them had been especially exerted over the last few weeks, with only relatively simple missions and training. There was no reason for her to be so tired, and it wasn't lost on him that she seemed to have lost her spark – her attitude had dulled, until it was only a faint glow of what had once been blindingly bright.

Yes, Anakin had realised – had suspected for longer than he had been certain, as well – that something was very wrong with his young padawan, and it frustrated him greatly that he couldn't figure out what had happened. After all, even after the incident with that disgusting Sith about three months back, she had seemed to be healing, both physically and emotionally. He had been almost sure that she would be able to recover fully.

And yet here she was, a pale ghost of her once vibrant and eager self, settling into a nearby seat as he shouted commands to the clones accompanying them on the mission – they had fighters to take them down to Glombd-Ashk, the planet being too heavily forested for them to land anything bigger, but they were taking three Jedi cruisers through hyperspace to wait for them as well as to provide a last line of both attack and defence. Ahsoka was not herself, he finalised in his mind, when he noticed that she neither engaged in conversation with the troopers nor attempted to talk to him or even the droid.

Anakin had had beyond enough of being in the dark. The last time he had waited until it was too late, his own mother had paid the price. He would not lose Ahsoka in the same way.

Ahsoka, who had been lost in her own thoughts, looked up with a masked smile as her master approached her, automatically asking how long the journey would take. She was more than a little surprised when he didn't even bother to answer, instead just glaring down at her and then turning away, motioning for her to follow.

"We need to have a private talk."

Hazeru - Next chapter: Anakin and Ahsoka talk, and Ahsoka's pregnancy endangers the mission.

Hera - Please R&R.


	4. Chapter 3

Hazeru - Sorry for the wait, here's the next chapter.

Hera - We've possibly got Anakin a bit OOC, this chapter was hard to write.

Hazeru - Hope it's okay. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 3

If the serious look on his face and the tone of his voice hadn't given away how serious he was, then the fact that he escorted her to his private quarters certainly did. Anakin could be irritable about people being in his personal space within the ship and he usually held such private meetings with his padawan within her quarters; this was a sign that he wanted her to listen to him and not be able to escape the talk they were now going to have. He had even given orders that he was not to be disturbed unless there were serious problems or their ship was attacked.

Perched on the edge of the 'bed', Ahsoka tried hard and failed to look her master in the eye, inwardly kicking herself for it – she should be stronger than this! She was fully expecting him to stand at his full height and glare at her whilst giving her the lecture of a lifetime in a raised voice, like he always did whenever he was disappointed in her or angry with her. What he did was very much the opposite.

She had never expected her master, who looked so fed up and irritated, to sit down next to her on the hard bed, place one hand on her shoulder and speak with such a defeated tone. Outwardly she closed her eyes; inwardly she was sickened by herself to her very core.

"Ahsoka, why won't you tell me what's going on? You haven't been yourself for weeks and every time I try to ask if you're alright, you brush me off." His tone had become both worried and suspicious. "You're drifting off in training, and you can't do that in a real battle. How am I supposed to train a padawan that won't even talk to me?"

She was thankful that her eyes were closed: her eyes were burning with the sensation of oncoming tears and she didn't want her master to notice them. Of course, if he didn't stop talking soon, she'd have to open her eyes and look at him – these tears were not going to just disappear and it wasn't like she could attempt to blink them into oblivion. She had found that a pregnancy did indeed make a female more emotional, and even with her Jedi training she was still crying herself to sleep some nights, something she had never done before. They were crystal droplets of frustration and buried fear and lingering disgust, and now they were also tears of guilt; guilt for causing her master so much trouble.

The pressure on her shoulder tightened. "Ahsoka. Look at me."

She looked down, not wanting him to see her face; she felt too ashamed, both of the pregnancy itself and of herself for hiding it and for not telling even him. But he was persistent, telling her again to look at him, this time in a tone so commanding that she could not ignore him. Her eyes met his and he looked into the tearful eyes of one so young carrying a burden too great for her to bear.

The tears were too much – she couldn't conceal the emotion held within each one and they poured out her true feelings, laid them out in from of Anakin for him to see. She was suddenly immensely grateful that her master was Anakin Skywalker, perhaps the only Jedi who would see these tears and understand her pain; he was different to your more typical Jedi somehow.

Anakin was stunned, to say the least. He had expected an outburst, sure that if he pressed hard enough she would blow up at him, just like she had always done. If she cried, it would be tears of frustration and anger. This was so uncharacteristic of his young padawan – putting her sorrow on display for all to see, even the master that she tried so hard to convince she could handle herself - that it forced him to do something he had not done since the day he had rescued her from the Sith scum that had forced himself on her: he took Ahsoka into his arms and held her.

The gesture was still rather unfamiliar but comfortable, the embrace soothing and instinctively; it shielded any awkwardness that could have occurred and allowed his padawan to relax and close her eyes once more, letting her tears fall at last. She cried in silence; there was no sobbing, just gentle weeping, as she was held in the arms of her master. It was the sort of hug that is shared between a parent and a child, comfort and care and compassion all mixed up. Anakin didn't make an effort to move or to soothe her, knowing that his simple embrace would have to be enough until she had gathered herself together.

It took several minutes before Ahsoka eventually – even if she wouldn't admit it, reluctantly – pulled away from him and folded her arms, casting her eyes downwards as if studying the floor. His hand retook its place upon her shoulder, a warm weight to ground her and keep her in the present. After seeing those tears, Anakin knew what was fuelling this pain of hers; that look of uncertainty and terror was merely a dull version of what he had seen when he had stumbled across her, pinned underneath a Sith. Somehow it was all related to that incident.

"You should talk about it." It was both a suggestion and a request, but not an order. "If you want to feel better. I know he hurt you."

Ahsoka wished that it was that simple, wished that getting over that dreadful rape was the worst of her quickly multiplying problems. More than anything, she wished that she had the courage to just tell him already! But she didn't possess such courage. Telling him would mean standing up to him, the council, the Jedi order itself. It would mean a personal scandal of the highest order, and she couldn't face that. Not yet.

The young padawan had once again resolved not to tell her master anything about her pregnancy when two large hands, both gloved and only one flesh, cupped her face, a gesture that would have been uncomfortably intimate had Anakin's expression not been so pained.

"You can tell me anything, Ahsoka. I know it must be hard to just get over something like that, after what he did" he said gently. "Whatever you tell me now, Ahsoka, it stays between us. I won't mention it to anyone else."

It was taking a lot more effort than it should have to stop herself from tearing up again at his words – never had she had such a concrete knowledge that her master genuinely cared for her. He even seemed to know specifically what it was that she needed for reassurance: the confirmation that he would keep her secret exactly that.

Anyone else and she would have said nothing. Anyone else and she would have begged off on an excuse. Anyone else and she would have lied. But not Anakin. She simply couldn't do it, she couldn't lie to him anymore; after all, he wasn't just her master, he was also her friend. She had often wished that he would open up to her a little bit more, share a few secrets and trust her with them. Now was the perfect chance to get him to do that sort of thing, by telling him her secret first.

Her eyes met his again and she bit her lip. His hands fell from her face and there was no physical contact between them now, but his eyes still bore into hers. She couldn't meet them but she had at last found words, even if those words were vague and strung together messily.

"Master, I..."

He was silent, waiting for her, not wanting to push her. After all this time, he was finally getting an answer; messing this up now was out of the question.

"When you found me ... with him ..." She sighed and looked up, meeting his eyes; she could tell from his facial expression that he was listening intently to what she was saying. "He didn't just, you know, do that to me. There was ... it did something to me."

It wasn't sounding like she had it planned in her head, coming out even more brokenly than it was pieced together in her mind. Confessing this to the man who was teaching her and supervising her Jedi training was harder than she could have imagined, but she didn't want to back down now, knew that he would not allow her to back down now. Anakin could be patient but if pushed too far, he would force the answers he craved out of her. If she didn't tell him he would never let it go and she knew just by looking at him that he was going to be able to tell if she was lying.

There was no getting away from this. She drew in a deep breath, using what she had learned about focus from Jedi meditation to calm herself.

"Master, I'm ... that Sith, he ..."

"Take your time, Ahsoka."

She nodded once and looked down. "I'm..."

Suddenly an alarm went off, loudly alerting the entire ship that they were under attack. Anakin growled – if ever the Separatists were unwelcome, it was right this moment! – and looked back down at his padawan, contemplating forcing her to tell him despite the attack. She looked up at him, as if waiting to see whether or not he'd ask her to continue.

But neither of them got the chance to speak.

The blow that struck their ship, not so far away from Anakin's private quarters, deafened them with an explosion that they could not even take notice of – they were already unconscious from the blast.

Hazeru - So. Who hates me now? xD

Hera - Please R&R.


	5. Chapter 4

Hazeru - Sorry for the long wait :(

Hera - Here's the next chapter.

Hazeru - Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 4

The first thing that her hazy mind registered was the pain in her head; a pounding headache, like she'd hit her head on metal at great speed. The second thing she noticed was how white the room was – so pure and clean and sterile, and it was then that her Jedi senses picked up and she realised that she was in a medical bay, most likely the one on the ship she'd been on. Thankfully, she could remember it all. But perhaps that wasn't a good thing at all.

She had been so close, so close to telling Anakin the truth. If the explosion – what had it been? She had to find out! – had been just five seconds later she would have been able to tell him and it would all have been over; no matter what his reaction would have been, she would have told him at last. Now it could be ages before she gathered up her courage again – no, it wouldn't, she would not allow it to take her so long this time.

Still, she had to get her bearings before she could do anything else. Sitting up, Ahsoka noticed a med-droid next her and smiled at it hesitantly; it informed her in a mechanical voice that she was suffering minor injuries – cuts and bruises – but had sustained no dangerous injuries. She nodded once and then looked around, taking in the fact that she was indeed still on the same ship. She had been here for a mild pain killer at the beginning of the mission and recognised it and had no qualms about rising from the bed in which she lay to go and find her master.

But as she looked to her left, she realised she didn't have to go find him. Anakin was seated in a chair beside her bed, arms folded and looking at her with such a deep and thoughtful expression that she could not determine which emotion he was attempting to suppress. It wasn't quite anger but it wasn't quite pain; there was something like disappointment there but not entirely.

"Master?" she asked in a low voice, wondering if he was hurt.

His glare told her that he was not. Anakin did not answer her query but instead neglected to make any kind of response, verbal or physical.

"Master?"

He held up one hand to stop her speaking; the look on his face prevented her natural desire to demand information from ruling her. She was silent, taking in the look on his face – horror, shock, disappointment, fury, guilt, anguish; she could list so many – and fidgeting with her hands for something to do.

Eventually, Anakin let out a sigh, obviously having got his emotions under control enough to speak with a voice that was something like calm. It was a valiant attempt but Ahsoka could see his one flesh hand shaking with the effort and when he spoke it was through gritted teeth.

"_Ahsoka_…" His fists clenched. "Ahsoka, _how_ could you not tell me!?"

"Master, what are …"

"_Don't_ try that on me, Ahsoka, you _know_ what I'm talking about!" His expression was so angry; she had seen it before but only once and that had been when he had rescued here from that vile Sith that had violated her. Now it turned on her and she began to understand. "Do you have any idea what this means? _How long have you known_?!"

She got it. He knew. She hadn't told him but he knew. This was not good; it was anything but good, this could only be disastrous.

"How did you find out?" she whispered, irritated immensely to realise her voice was little more than a squeak.

"Medical droid" her master hissed. "I get the ship to safety, abandon the mission, come to check you're okay and what do I find? This tin can telling me that you're…"

"Don't!" the padawan shouted, fear soaking her words. "Please, don't, Master!"

"Ahsoka, how could you have kept this from me? You should have told me as _soon_ as you found out. _When_?!"

She knew what he meant and was suddenly so ashamed that she could only speak in a quiet voice. "I've known for a month."

Silence reigned and the young padawan hung her head, too ashamed and afraid to look at her master's face. She knew that she should have told him but it wasn't as easy as that; she didn't expect him to understand. How could he? This was a situation he had never been in, a situation that he, as a human male, would never have to worry about.

He was standing beside her bed now, turned away from her with his fists clenched and negative vibes rolling off him that she could feel through the Force. It was a few minutes before he turned to her with a pained expression. "It was him. That Sith."

It wasn't really a question but she nodded nonetheless. Anakin's expression darkened.

He sat down next to her and she felt that he was calming down; it was likely that the initial fury he'd felt was beginning to wear off, the lack of adrenaline leaving him weakened. His form was tense and she didn't dare to touch him but nevertheless, this was better than the rage.

Anakin's expression was sorrowful as he turned to look at her. "Ahsoka, we have to talk to the council about this."

Panic began to rise in her; if the council found out, she knew what they would make her do, what they'd tell her was her only option. She was a Jedi in training and could not have this child. Except that this was her choice and her mind was already made up.

"I can't" she said quietly, trying to put some determination back into her voice; it was no longer whispery. "Master, I know what they'd tell me. I … I'm not going to kill it."

Anakin sighed. "This isn't like bringing home a lost animal to the Jedi Temple, Ahsoka. If you don't tell them they'll find out and then what will they say?"

"They're not … I won't let them…"

"You can't stop them from finding out eventually" he snarled, the anger beginning to grow again. "Ahsoka, you can't hide away from them for six months and never have them see you. It'll be obvious. And as your master, I can't let you do this."

Fury bubbled up, but this time it was swelling inside the padawan. "No! I'm not going to let them kill her!"

"Ahsoka, this is completely against the Jedi code!"

"But master, it's against the Jedi code to kill an innocent! The baby's not done anything wrong, it was that Sith Lord that ... Master, if I get rid of her I'll have killed an innocent. A Jedi can't do that!"

"A Jedi can't have a baby, Ahsoka!" he snapped. "We're telling the council!"

"Come on, master! Haven't you ever done anything against the Jedi code?"

She knew the answer to that but she didn't know to what extent he had disobeyed the code. Anakin stopped entirely, staring at her even though his eyes told her that he wasn't really seeing her; his mind was elsewhere.

Unbeknownst to his padawan, Anakin's mind was with Padme Amidala, with his wife. Yes, he had broken the code, in so many ways. He was living a secret life and telling his padawan that she couldn't disobey the code was … it was right, it was his job but it was so hypocritical. Who was he to tell her not to do this when he himself was living a life that the Jedi would expel him from the Order for if they found out?

Of course, his secret was far easier to hide. He and Padme had long ago perfected the art of keeping their marriage and love life a secret from the public and the Jedi. As long as they kept up the act, they were safe. Ahsoka was not in the same sort of position; eventually she would begin to physically show signs of being pregnant and then there would be no way to conceal her secret from the Jedi council. When they found out about this, there would be dire consequences for both her and her master. Anakin knew this.

But he knew, as he pulled his mind back to the present and looked at the hopelessness and determination mixing on Ahsoka's face, that it was his job – as her master, as her friend, as someone who'd broken the Jedi code - to stop them from finding out.

His padawan did not know about his secret marriage but he was certain that, if he told her, she would keep it a secret. He knew she wouldn't betray him even if she found out. That was why he couldn't betray her, because she would never do it to him.

Blue eyes fixed on the young girl. "Go up to the bridge. I've got to contact Master Windu so we can find out how to approach the rest of the mission."

"Master?"

A smile. "Don't worry, Snips. I won't tell him anything. This is going to get us into a lot of trouble if they find out but … I'll think of something."

Ahsoka's face lit up as she realised that her master was finally seeing things from her point of view. She was torn between bursting into tears and hugging him, but he was up and exiting the room before she had a chance to do either.

Alone in the medical bay, the padawan let slip one solitary tear before rising from the bed and heading up to the bridge, her heart pounding.

Anakin was on her side; he was keeping her secret. Of course she realised that this might change in the future and that she would have to continuously act to make sure that he wasn't going to change his mind – it would be tremendously difficult for neither of them to spill the secret and she'd have to be very careful. The padawan knew that her master may rethink this – her mind was not at ease just yet – but she also knew that this was more than she could have asked him for.

Truly she and Anakin were alike, both reckless and both willing to put themselves at risk to protect a friend.

She loved him; that was what she realised as she walked to the bridge. She truly loved Anakin – oh, she wasn't _in_ love with him, not in that way. But as a friend, as a brother, she loved him very much.

She just had to hope that this would be enough to convince him not to change his mind a few months in the future.

* * *

Hazeru - So Anakin knows but will he be able to keep her secret or will he change? Next chapter: the mission.

Hera - Please R&R.


	6. Chapter 5

Hazeru - I know, it's way overdue for an update. Please don't kill me :(

Hera - This chapter's about the mission. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 5

Despite the explosion having knocked both master and padawan unconcious, the ship was not badly damaged and Master Windu order them to proceed with their mission. Anakin knew that this was the best course of action - another droid factory was the last thing the Republic needed - but now that he knew his padawan's secret, he couldn't help but wish that she wasn't involved.

The entire truth of it still hadn't fully sunk in - his young padawan, so full of life and just beginning her journey as a Jedi, was pregnant.

He wasn't sure how to feel. There were the predictable emotions: anger, worry, sympathy, guilt. But then there were other emotions that swelled within him, like pride for his padawan who had been hurt so badly and yet still refused to break the Jedi code by harming an innocent. He had to admit that he was proud of her, even if he was still furious with her. After all, despite everything, this had not been her fault in the first place, even though he was still angry that she had taken so long to tell him.

This was going to take a long time to sort out and he was all too aware that, with her condition, time was not something that they had. How far through was she now? It had been over two months since that Sith had raped her, but the exact amount of time was lost on Anakin, the mission having been blurred by his concern and anger. He knew that, later on, he would have to force a more precise date out of Ahsoka - he needed to know how far along she was so that he could plan out just how much time he had left to think of something.

It wasn't going to be easy, and right now they had other problems.

Anakin took in a deep breath before addressing his padawan and the Clone troopers accompanying them.

"We are to continue with the mission. Rex, take a squadron of fighters and get as close as you can to the planet." He turned to another Clone. "Trooper, send word to Master Secura that we're on our way."

The short speech over and done with, he proceeded to prepare for battle alongside Ahsoka, who was presently inserting a disk of some form into one of the R2 units that the troopers had brought along, probably some sort of upgrade. Anakin smirked; Force help her if she tried to mess with R2-D2 without his permission.

"Ahsoka, are you ready?"

Jumping to her feet, his padawan smiled up at him. "Ready to go, Master."

"Take it easy" he warned.

A frown was his initial answer but she managed to nod.

/

Glombd-Ashk was a horrible planet, full of thick swamps and murky pools of dubious water. The curtains of foul-smelling plants made movement difficult and both Jedi had already resorted to using their lightsabres to cut their way through; the Clone troopers followed them in a direct path as much as they could for ease of movement.

Master Secura had sent them her coordinates but they were having a hard time getting to her, and by now Anakin was beginning to fear that it would be too late. Aayla could hold her own in any fight but he was all too aware of how heavily guarded a soon-to-be-factory would be, and didn't put it past the Separatists to have someone more powerful overseeing the construction; droids were one thing, but it was entirely different to go up against Count Dooku or Ventress. This he knew from personal experience.

"Ahsoka, get those troops through!" he ordered, pointing towards a squad of Clones who had been separated from the others and were being trapped by a huge, poisonous plant that Anakin was half convinced was alive. His padawan dashed off in the direction of the troops and Anakin ploughed through, cutting vines and leaves and branches as he went.

He understood now why the Separatists had chosen Glombd-Ashk for this project: the swampy planet was the perfect protection from any large invasion. Even a small band of fighters was having trouble.

_"Skywalker, where are you?" _His intercom beeped and he heard the frustrated voice of Aayla Secura, obviously having trouble alone.

"We're on our way, Master!" Anakin promised. "Not far now." He hoped this was not a lie.

/

It took longer than anticipated for Anakin, Ahsoka and their Clone troops to finally reach Aayla and what remained of her own Clones. By the time they arrived, Secura was pushed back as far as she could go and if not for knowing that help was coming, she would have already pushed her living troops into retreat. Thankfully, just as she was beginning to believe that retreat was the only sane course of action, Anakin Skywalker cut through the vines to her left and threw himself at the nearest formation of battle droids.

_Nice entrance_, Aayla thought, before following Skywalker into battle.

The droids were more easily overpowered now that there were three Jedi in the midst of their rapidly breaking formation; the addition of more Clone troopers did not help either. It took a while, but eventually the droids were in full retreat and Anakin could now see the building that had been hastily constructed and would soon be producing a huge amount of battle droids every day. It was a large, ugly building but he had now doubt that, if allowed to, it would serve its purpose.

The droids had pulled back enough that they could stop fighting for a moment and regroup; it was easier said than done with the muddy, murky puddles all around them. Anakin and Ahsoka stood with Aayla Secura and her hologram of the factory as they listened to her plan of action, one that was easy to carry out with the three of them there. This was an incomplete factory and so would be easier to destroy.

At least in theory.

The plan went off without any complications to begin with. Anakin and Ahsoka managed to get inside, with Aayla and the Clones holding off most of the droids outside the factory doors. All they had to do now was set off the bombs that would blow this factory up and then ensure that all the droids were gone. It should have been easy.

And it would have been, had the two Jedi not heard the all too familiar throaty, humourless laugh that they had come to associate with one particular battle droid. Anakin looked up just in time to see two lightsabres - one green, one blue - being activated somewhere above them before the metal weight of General Grevious landed no more than six feet from where they stood.

Ahsoka, closer to him than her master, was quick to react with her own lightsabre and she ran at Grevious, occupying him thoroughly while attempting to give her master the chance to set the bombs. But Anakin was not interested in such a plan, and used a powerful Force push to throw the droid as far away from his padawan as he could.

He threw the backpack he carried at her. "Get the bombs set!"

Ahsoka didn't have time to reply before he was running off, straight into combat with Grevious. She frowned - she should have been the one in battle, not the other way around! - but nevertheless, she set about putting the bombs up. There were perhaps twenty of them, however, and Grevious used every opportunity to throw a sabre at her or leap in her way, causing her to temporarily forget her objective in order to defend herself.

Anakin, whenever this happened, pulled the droid away with the Force and into combat.

"What's the matter, Grevious? Bored with me already?" he taunted, knowing that this would make the droid more likely to attack him.

As long as the attention was on him and not his padawan, Anakin was alright. He was sure that he could handle Grevious - he'd fought him before - and now that he knew that Ahsoka was pregnant, there was a stronger urge than ever to defend his pupil. Now he wasn't just protecting her, but also an innocent life.

The battle raged on and was just beginning to become a desperate situation - Grevious now using four lightsabres - when Aayla jumped in, having sensed the droid inside the factory.

With three Jedi, it was not long before the cowardly droid fled, and the factory was destroyed.

* * *

Hazeru - Hey, a happy ending for once. Well, sort of.

Hera - Any ideas for the next chapter?

Hazeru - Any input from readers is always welcomed :)

Hera - Please R&R!


	7. Chapter 6

Hazeru - This story is long overdue for an update.

Hera - Sorry it took so long, we've not updated anything in a long time.

Hazeru - But this is a personal favourite so here it is.

Hera - Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Chapter 6

There is an old saying: time flies when you're having fun, and that's not necessarily false. However, there's a state of mind in which time just seems to run away from you, no matter how hard you try to hold it back - when you're trying to avoid the inevitable.

This was what Anakin knew he was doing, what he knew his padawan was doing. Time was getting away from them and he had, so far, come up with no better plans than he had in the instant he had realised that he could not force Ahsoka to give up her unborn child. His padawan was now a full four months into her pregnancy, and by now he was just waiting for the physical signs to show, knowing that they would and that time was running out.

He knew, also, that the Jedi Council was becoming concerned by how little they had seen of his padawan recently; now that Anakin knew what to search for, he could sense the change within Ahsoka, and sought to keep her away from older, wiser Jedi at all costs for fear that they would sense the same things. It was difficult considering that she had to report to them frequently enough, following near enough every mission, and every time she seemed eager to leave left the Council more concerned; it had to stop, Anakin knew, before that concern gave way to suspicion.

A sigh wracked his frame, powerful in its force, and his breath rather got away from him for a second. His trained eyes watched the still lithe form of his padawan as she leapt from obstacle to obstacle, her lightsabre wielded as skillfully as possible; she trained in a different way now but it was no easier, just different. If anything, Anakin had purposefully made the challenges in her Jedi training greater - it was his way of testing her limits, pushing her as far as she could go just to see how far that might be. After all, if he was going to keep this a secret- and not a day went by when he considered telling the Council - then he had to know how far his padawan could be pushed in her condition.

At first he had tried to prevent her from fighting at all, but soon realised that not only was it not practical, it wasn't helpful. She had to continue with her training, regardless of her condition; even on the days when she fled to the bathroom to empty her stomach, she would return to her training dutifully. Sometimes he even had to tell her that enough was enough.

Ahsoka's pregnancy was not making her lazy or unwilling to fight. On the contrary, her delicate condition only made her more aware, more precise and certainly more careful; all of a sudden there was double the weight on her shoulders and she knew that she could not afford to make the mistakes she had used to. Her already high levels of determination increased rapidly until she would tire herself out to the point of near unconciousness in the hopes of perfecting a certain technique or mastering a particular manipulation of the Force. Of course she did not exert herself all day every day, but it was near enough to this that, more than once, Anakin had given her a full day off to recover from her training, opting to leave her behind on missions when he would normally have brought her along.

He was almost glad that there was a war on - if not, the Council would probably have already noticed this.

Ahsoka was presently hurtling around the room - too fast for a normal person to keep up with - and brandishing her weapon against a hoarde of specially programmed droids. It was a simple training exercise but it was wearing her out faster than she would have liked, faster than it had four months ago. Nevertheless, she pushed on, determined to prove to herself and her ever watchful master that she could do this. Letting Anakin see her own capability had become essential to her.

"Alright, Snips, give it a rest" Anakin called, shaking his head slightly; his padawan's movements were fluid and precise but he could see that she was getting tired. Exherting herself physically wouldn't do her any good. "Ahsoka, come on."

Anakin deactivated the droids and they slumped forward, leaving the padawan facing nothing but inanimate tin cans. With a sigh, she clipped her lightsabres back onto her belt and faced her master, trying not to notice the wary look he was giving her. "So when's our next mission?"

"We are to report to the Council tonight" Anakin answered, the two of them now walking together towards the main arena. "Obi-Wan reckons we're accompanying him to Ryloth."

"Ryloth?"

"The Separatists have set up a small camp there using the people as slave labour. It's our duty to liberate them and see that the Separatists get off their planet."

Ahsoka nodded absently. "Master, wouldn't it be better if we taught them how to actually defend themselves? This isn't the first time that the Separatists have invaded Ryloth and if they could only..."

"Innocent people shouldn't have to learn how to fight. It's our job to keep the dark side out of their way."

The padawan nodded, unconvinced but realising that this was a pointless fight; she and Anakin had always had areas which they strongly disagreed upon. Besides, if they were to report to the Jedi Council that night she was going to need to prepare herself for it. The meetings had become, ever since Anakin had found out about her unintended pregnancy, more and more uneasy and nowadays she almost fled from the room whenever she was dismissed. It wasn't intentional, it was just that the watchful eyes of the Jedi masters were becoming increasingly suspicious and she felt that the less time they could be so close to her, the better it was for her and the baby.

The baby. She had come to call the baby a girl in her own head but of course she had no way of knowing yet which gender the child would be - she had a full five months to go and Togrutas couldn't determine the sex of their child until their seventh month of pregnancy.

She and Anakin stopped in the centre of the arena, looking around at the other people in the room. She idly wondered what sort of secrets they might be hiding and thought that none of them had a secret as dangerous and precious as she did; what about Anakin, though? He had secrets - she knew that for a fact - but were they as dangerous to him as her secret was to her? It was doubtful but then, this was Anakin Skywalker. He did like to outdo her and she wondered what he might have done that could ever outdo her in this.

It wasn't that she wanted to outdo him here, it was just that she couldn't get the look in his eyes out of her mind; the look on his face when she had asked him if he had ever broke the Jedi code, back when he had only just found out her secret. He had seemed to be a million miles away and she wondered what she had yet to discover about the man whom she trusted with her training, her life and now with her unborn baby.

A silence fell over the two of them, tense and uncomfortable, and Ahsoka wished that the two of them were alone.

"Master, I ..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Anakin gave her a strange look and then he was suddenly marching off, beckoning with one hand for her to follow. Ahsoka followed him until they were standing in an old room which looked like it hadn't been used in years. But at least they were alone now.

"I gather that you want to tell me something?"

Ahsoka gulped; did she? He must have felt something through the Force, but she didn't know what exactly he wanted her to say. So she only said the first thing that ran through her mind. "Thank you, Master."

"For what?"

"For helping me. I know that this isn't easy."

"It'll only get harder" Anakin murmured, sitting down on a dusty old cushion. "Ahsoka, the Council is suspicious. If they find out about this before I've come up with a plan, we're both going to pay for it."

"They won't find out" she replied on reflex.  
Anakin just sighed, knowing that they were empty words. "You'll have to give up your training."

Ahsoka simply nodded, knowing from earlier conversations that he didn't mean she had to completely give up her Jedi training, but rather that she wouldn't be able to train in the weeks before the baby arrived and in the weeks after. She already knew that Anakin didn't want to force her to give up her Jedi training entirely and was confident that he would never ask her to do so anyway.

"It won't be for very long, Master. I'll work something out, I promise."

"You'll have to find someone to take care of the baby on short notice. Someone who can keep a secret."

"I know." She sat down next to him, hesitating briefly before letting one hand fall onto his knee. She knew that he was looking at her but her eyes gazed off into the distance, not looking at him. "I didn't mean for it to happen. But I can't ... I _won't _kill her."

Anakin kept his gaze on his young padawan, wondering why she was telling him this, wondering why she seemed to want the physical contact between them. Then he realised: she needed him to _understand_. Not to simply just accept this but to _truly _understand that she wasn't being stubborn, that she genuinely wanted to go through with this. She needed him to let her know that he wasn't disappointed in her for making this choice.

He raised one arm and draped it lightly around her shoulders, not pulling her any closer than she already was but simply maintaining a small level of contact. He saw that a breath caught in her throat but to her credit she didn't tense up.

"I'm proud of you, Snips." It was a quiet murmur but he knew that she heard clearly.

Ahsoka nodded once and leaned towards Anakin, falling against his side in a half-embrace in thanks. The two sat in this position for several seconds before Anakin sighed and stood, declaring that he was going to go polish things up with R2. He told her to meet him outside the Jedi Temple that evening so that they could enter into the Council room together.

After all, he now understood. He hadn't been lying, he truly was proud of his padawan; even though her choices were risky and dangerous, she was doing it all out of her determination to not take an innocent life. He knew that if she was going down, then he was going down with her. But it was different now - before he had simply known that this was a fact; now he was glad that it was a fact. He didn't want her to go down and him to still be standing tall. She was his padawan, his responsibility and, if he was honest, his friend. He agreed with her decision to not terminate the pregnancy.

And what better way to show that than by presenting themselves to the Jedi Council as a united front.

* * *

Hazeru - Next chapter: Council meeting and an appearance by Obi-Wan!

Hera - Please R&R!


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